Russian FM: Iran enrichment deal needs finalizing

MOSCOW 
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that an agreement reached between Tehran and six world powers last week for Russia to help enrich uranium for an Iranian reactor has yet to be finalized.

Lavrov said that experts would have to work out specifics of the deal involving the United States, France, Russia and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran insists its nuclear program is purely peaceful, and needs the fuel to power a research reactor in Tehran.

"A meeting of experts will be held in the near future in order to implement that plan," Lavrov said after a meeting with his Austrian counterpart.

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei has said experts will meet in Vienna on Oct. 19 to discuss the deal for Russia to take some of Iran's processed uranium and enrich it. He said Iran would take part.

The uranium-enrichment arrangement discussed at Thursday's talks between Iran and the six powers – the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany – has increased hopes for a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear standoff.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said Moscow could support tougher U.N. sanctions against Iran if diplomatic efforts to halt its domestic enrichment program fail.

Thursday's talks in Geneva included the highest-level bilateral contact between U.S. and Iranian officials, and Tehran also agreed to allow U.N. inspectors into its covertly built enrichment plant during the talks.